It's Instagram Video Versus Vine in This Week's Movie Marketing Race

In the past few days, movie marketers have taken to these new platforms, releasing a teaser for 'Jobs' on Instagram Video and casting news for 'Chef' on Vine. Here's how they're different, and why they might pay off.

What makes the neck-and-neck competition between Vine and Instagram Video so fascinating is how starkly different the content can be on each respective app -- making it difficult to believe there need be competition at all. The best recent examples of this are the movie sneak-peek videos shot on the apps.

The Instagram trailer is traditional in style and looks no different from a TV spot. Instagram was the right choice because it could offer up to 15 seconds, it can appear on the Jobs page, which has 4,368 followers, alongside all the photos that have been accumulating for months, and it offers plenty of accessibility without paying a cent for advertising space.

The Vine post from Favreau, on the otherhand, is charmingly casual, especially coming from a movie that will already feature Bobby Cannavale, Robery Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara and John Leguizamo. We just get a brief look at Cannavale on set before we see playful dialogue between Favreau and Hoffman, reminding us that the production, despite the cast, is likely to be more down-to-earth than Favreau last few flicks (Iron Man, Cowboys & Aliens).

Whatever medium (or movie) you prefer from these previews, it's definitely intriguing to see movie marketing become more prominent on new platforms so quickly. If this type of advertising can compete with print and television ads, it can significantly cut costs on promotion, which, hopefully, could inspire filmmakers and studios alike to worry a little less about churning out blockbusters to compensate (hey, every bit counts!) It's interesting to see if this kind of leveraging of new platforms will make a dent in marketing budgets.